


The Doctor Is In

by Woman93



Category: Fallout (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-21 23:12:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6061677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woman93/pseuds/Woman93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Back when John Hancock was just John (and human), the Lone Wanderer came to Goodneighbor working on a secret project. John tries to protect the Wanderer from the crime lord of Goodneighbor, Vic, but he finds out she's much more than a doctor in the process. Flirting, fighting, and adventures abound when this unlikely couple roams the Wastes. Sound cheesy enough?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet the Doctor

There was something to be said for someone who came into Goodneighbor looking to help people out instead of take something from them. When that someone was a little girl without any backup, someone else might just call them stupid. John, however, called them ballsy.

  
Most drifters who caused a stir didn’t survive two days in Goodneighbor without joining a gang or dying. When John heard the ballsy babe was still around after two weeks he figured he should make a doctor’s appointment. It was only polite.

  
He heard she was hunkered down behind Daisy’s place. He was surprised, but not shocked. Daisy always was a good one.

  
He let himself into the officially unofficial clinic. It was crowded with so many other drifters that he had a hard time finding the ballsy babe responsible for this little operation. Quite a few of the patients were ghouls too, John noted with interest. He didn’t know many people familiar with ghoul anatomy. Hell, ghouls weren’t even familiar with ghoul anatomy.

  
Music was playing softly from somewhere in the crowded room; a small distraction from the coughs, murmurs, and a few laughs. He finally spotted someone out of the normal, but it looked like she’d seen him first. She wasn’t dressed like a doctor, but he thought she was by the way she moved around the room with authority. She was wearing an over sized leather jacket and had a puffy head of short curls. Her dark complexion really brought out how her green eyes were glaring at him.

  
“I doubt you’re looking to kick the habit,” she said to him without so much as a hello. He noticed how she moved her jacket aside to rest a hand on her hip. Less than an inch away was a pistol and he had to smile at the warm welcome this gal was giving him.

 

“Nah,” he chuckled and she raised an eyebrow, “I came for a physical.” Now she was trying hard to keep her frown, but John could see she was losing the fight.

  
“Without an appointment?” she questioned, still trying to quell the smile that was pulling at her lips. He was sure his grin was feral now that she was playing his game. He knew he had a good feeling ‘bout this little lady.

  
“I figured you could at least buy me a beer before you see me in my birthday suit. Seems like the civil thing to do,” he leaned in a little. He was pleased that she didn’t move away from him and now their faces were only a few inches away from each other. That was all it took for her to crack. She started laughing and pushed him back into his own space. He stepped back without a fight since he got a smile out of the lady.

  
Now she stared back at him with an open smile on her face, “What do you really want?” When John’s grin widened at her question she was back to hiding her smile around a frown. “Why are you here?” she instantly changed her question. John shrugged internally. Her loss.

  
Before John could reply a woman’s scream cut him off. The still nameless dame shot off like a lightning bolt. Might as well follow her, see what all the trouble is about.

  
Turns out childbirth is a bitch. The screaming woman in front of him was proof of that. Now John had seen some half-naked ladies in his day, but he had never seen a pregnant half-naked lady giving birth. Being a gentleman, he looked away to give the woman some privacy.

  
“Hold this,” the little dame said as she threw her leather coat at him. John caught it with ease and looked at the patch on the back. Tunnel Snakes. Kinky.

  
When the pregnant lady started screaming again, John wondered if he should cut his losses and come back when a woman’s privates weren’t being manhandled by a baby. “You wanna be useful? Give Cassy your hand,” the doctor ordered. John slipped the leather jacket on and gave his hand to the laboring woman. She gave out another screech and dug her nails into John’s hand. He should have gotten out when he had the chance.


	2. NO SMOKING

There was nothing like an irradiated beer after a woman in labor tried to tear your hand off. Course having that little guy smile up at you wasn’t too bad either, John thought. Now he was just waiting for that little doctor of his to show up. She finally agreed to buy him a drink after he helped her in the clinic. But shit, he still didn’t have a name to put to the face.

The bartender, a shady guy by the name of Clyde, dropped another beer bottle in front of John. Just when he was about to protest Clyde spoke up, “A gift from that little missy over there.” John’s gaze followed where Clyde’s finger had pointed. Sure enough ladies and gentlemen, the doctor was in.

John took an appreciative glance at the little lady and grinned. She had swapped her jeans and t-shirt for a little pink dress. And she was wearing that leather jacket again. John was sure there was a story he wanted to hear there.

He finished off his first beer and headed towards the doctor with his second. She nodded to him, smiling slightly as he slid into the booth she was occupying. “I like your new getup, doctor,” John purred as he leaned towards the young woman.

She forced a chuckle and looked away from John. Ah, she was a shy one, John grinned again. She tried tucking some of her curls behind her ear, but they wouldn’t be contained. John would bet a pretty cap that she was equally unruly. “I hate to break it to you, but I don’t actually have my medical license.”

John laughed, shocked that a wasteland doctor would say anything to discredit their services. “Well I don’t care much for your credentials. I’d still let you give me a physical,” John suggested with a wink.

Although she tried not to laugh, John could see she thought he was funny. She faced him with a hint of a smile still on her face. John’s brown eyes met hers willingly and he leaned across the table comfortably. “What do you really want, Mr. Physical?” she asked finally.

John could think of quite a few things he wanted that involved this little missy, but he settled on keeping it clean…for now. “Can’t a guy wonder what the name is of the one charitable soul in Goodneighbor?”

She studied him for a moment before answering. John wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t like what she saw. He was all too aware of his wicked good looks. “Purity,” she finally spoke. Purity. John liked it for a few reasons. Not all of them were dirty.

Just as he was about to tell the good lady his name, someone beat him to it. “John!” exclaimed a muscular ghoul. John had to give it to his best friend, he had great timing. Jimmy Gee welcomed himself to sit next to John and extended a hand to Purity. “Jimmy Gee! Where’s Johnny been hiding you away?” Jimmy laughed. Usually John enjoyed his friend, but when his friend was clearly high and/or drunk and John was sober, Jim was annoying. Purity didn’t flinch at Jimmy’s exuberant behavior. She smiled and shook Jimmy’s hand as if she didn’t notice he was a ghoul.

“Johnny and I have just met,” Purity smiled, clearly tickled by the whole situation. John was silently vowing to get vengeance on Jimmy for saying Johnny in front of Purity. It was his least favorite nickname. He preferred ghoul loving rat bastard over Johnny.

Jimmy ignored John’s silent behavior and continued talking to Purity. “Well you must meet my beautiful wife, Fanny! She’s the red-head over there by the bar. Isn’t she the loveliest smoothskin you ever saw?” Jimmy cooed even though Fanny couldn’t hear him.

Purity just laughed and looked for the tall and intimidating Fanny. John knew well that Jim was enamored with her long red hair. “She’s gorgeous,” Purity nodded towards Fanny.

Jimmy laughed loudly, causing a few patrons to glare towards the trio. “Isn’t she though?” He suddenly got serious and turned on John. “You treat this girl nice now, John.” John shook his head at his friend’s antics. “And it was nice meeting you Miss…”

“Purity,” she offered helpfully.

“Miss Purity,” he smiled, “John. I’ll leave you to it.” With that Jimmy staggered towards his wife who caught the large ghoul before he ran into anyone and caused a bar fight.

When John turned towards Purity, she was staring at him with a look of amusement. John decided to let Jim off this once since he hadn’t completely ruined his chances with the little lady. John didn’t have any chems to settle him down, but he had cigarettes and weren’t they the next best thing? Besides booze. He ran a hand through ginger hair and pulled a cigarette out of his coat pocket and lit it. “So where were we?” he asked, resuming his relaxed posture.

Purity was no longer relaxed and smiling though. She was visibly reserved and John didn’t know what he’d done. He sucked on that cigarette like it’d have an answer for him. “I think I have to get back to work,” she sighed heavily.

“Doctor’s don’t have nights off?” he tried to joke with her.

She smirked at him, “Wouldn’t know. I’m not a doctor.” John chuckled as she finished off her beer and slid out of their booth. “Thanks for the help today.” She was about to walk out, but John wasn’t going to let the night end on a sour note.

He stood up and offered his arm to her. She looked surprised, as he thought she might. “Let me walk you home,” he smiled at her. John usually didn’t work this hard to win a lady over. It was a wink, a smile, and then a little bit of fun beneath the sheets. It was even more fun if it happened somewhere without sheets.

She grabbed his arm awkwardly and nodded, trying to avoid eye contact again. John took advantage of her shyness and pulled her closer to him. John couldn’t help but smile smugly. There was really no need to walk her home, they were at the clinic in less than three minutes, but she had let him regardless. John counted that as a win.

He let her go as they approached the darkness of her clinic’s door. He could barely make out her face in the darkness. The red neon lights nearby cast a little light on her face, making her eyes seem even greener. John decided he had to go for it.

He grabbed one of her hands and stroked her cheek softly with his other one. She looked up at him with a startled expression, but didn’t push him away. John was sure she still had that pistol on her from earlier, so she could shoot him if she really didn’t want him this close. “Sorry…you had some gorgeous on your face,” he smiled down at her. She let out a breathy laugh, still looking up at him with those eyes. He closed his eyes and went in for the kill.

John had done this plenty of times, so he was fairly familiar with kissing. Whatever skin John’s lips were touching, it wasn’t Purity’s full ones. He opened his eyes and leaned back in confusion. At the last minute she had turned her head to the side and he kissed her cheek instead. She turned her head back to face him, now with a mischievous smirk on her face. “I don’t kiss smokers,” she said simply. He didn’t have time to come up with a response before she had left his arms and was inside her clinic.

John fell against the wall of the ally they were in and smacked himself soundly in the face. He was smiling though. Of course she would find smoking disgusting in a town full of murderers, thieves, and chem dealers. John wasn’t deterred though; he was more determined than ever. One thing could be said about John McDonough—he wasn’t a quitter.


	3. The Knife Doctor

John watched avidly as Purity had a staring contest with a newborn baby. She was frowning heavily but the baby continued to garble nonsense happily. Purity eventually closed her eyes and sighed. “You’re going to keep me up all night and then act cute about it?” she gave a dangerous look towards the baby who remained unaffected. John had laughed good-naturedly, even though he wanted to be the one to keep her up all night. 

A crash coming from the entrance silenced everyone in the clinic. John scowled when he heard the tale tell signs of Vic’s thugs, drunk and looking for their latest victims. He went to stand, but Purity pushed him back down, shaking her head. She handed him the baby, a mistake in John’s book, and headed towards Vic’s rowdy gunmen. 

John didn’t stand, afraid he would drop the little fella, but stretched his neck to get a better look at the thugs. The duo had kicked in the clinic door and were pushing poor Kent Connolly around. Purity was there, gently grabbing Kent’s shoulder and put herself between Vic’s gangsters and Kent. No one stood up to the pricks running Goodneighbor. John felt himself get antsy and gave the baby back to the tired mother. He’d need his hands free if a fight broke out. 

“Boys,” Purity smiled, her green eyes darting between the two armed henchmen. “Hotel Rexford’s two streets down if you’re looking for entertainment,” she smiled as polite as an old world hostess. 

When one of those sons of bitches grabbed Purity by the arm John was ready to send those punks to hell. But before John could touch his trusty knife Purity was holding her own knife to the offender’s throat and had a pistol pointing at his partner. John would be lying if he said that didn’t turn him on. Then again John would never say something so ridiculous. 

“I suggest you and your boyfriend leave before I tell Vic that you two are breaking our agreement and he has the two of you strung up,” she growled so low that John had to strain his ears to hear her. 

“Who the fuck does this bitch—“a shot rang out, silencing the thug to Purity’s right. She hadn’t shot the man, much to John’s disappointment. She had just found an effective way of shutting him up. 

“I won’t tell you again,” she said faintly. It wasn’t the angry growl John was expecting. She almost sounded sad and that threw John off more than anything else she had done.   
“Come on, we don’t want to piss off the boss,” the gangster under Purity’s knife yelled to his partner. Apparently the smarter of the two fellas. Purity stepped away from them both and gestured for them to leave her clinic. They both fled with their tails tucked between their legs. 

The only sound in the clinic was the baby boy in the back cooing at his mother. The poor drifters that took shelter in the clinic were stunned at the bravery Purity showed. No one stood up for drifters when Vic’s goons went crazy. Not even John did anything to stop the violence against them. 

“Aw, thanks for helping me out. You’re like a real life Silver Shroud,” Kent said in amazement. John had to agree with the old ghoul. He had never met anyone like her before.

“No, I’m more like Daring Dashwood and you can be my stalwart ghoul companion—Argyle,” she laughed. “We can roam the Wates, getting into all kinds of crazy adventures, and you’ll save me from my fatal flaw!” she smiled brightly at Kent. His face looked horrified at the prospect of adventure. 

“What? No, I’m not the hero type,” Kent shook his head and looked towards the ground with slumped shoulders. Purity frowned, looking at a loss for words. John knew an opening when he saw one. 

“You two do make quite the team, but if you’re not up for traveling I’m available,” John smiled wickedly at Purity. She didn’t take the bait for once and shoved her hands into her oversized coat pockets. With a frown still tugging at her lips she looked more like a pouty teenager than a woman who just threatened two thugs from the toughest gang in town. God help him, he had it bad. 

She was walking away, ignoring the small thanks the drifters in the clinic were giving her. John followed like a lovesick puppy. Damn, he hadn’t even kissed the girl, but he knew she was special. She was sorting through notebooks and papers on her desk. John couldn’t make heads or tails of the stuff besides a few sketches of humans and ghouls naked. Wonder what she needed that for. 

“You’re not really in with Vic, are you?” he asked after she found the note she seemed to be looking for. His presence didn’t surprise her—so she had been blatantly ignoring him. Hmm. 

She placed the note face down on her desk so he couldn’t read it and sighed. “When big shots like Vic have too many people to talk to individually, you can lie about being in the boss’s good graces. You can do this even if it’s the head of security because people like Vic don’t like to be bothered with trivial matters. If I say Vic and myself have an agreement, who are they going to ask to see if I’m lying?” she said with a funny little smile. She was fucking brilliant. He wanted to kiss her right then, but it wasn’t the right time.

He laughed instead and her smile turned into a smirk. “You’re either insane, or a genius,” he smiled back at her. She shrugged and stuck that same piece of paper in her coat pocket as if to say ‘probably both.’ 

She sat down heavily in her chair behind the desk. John took a more languid position on the desk doing what he was best at: being handsome. She was eyeing him, something John didn’t mind at all, as he smiled angelically at her. “What do you know about Vic?” she asked eventually. Wasn’t quite the question John was hoping she would ask, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

“I know to stay out of the crazy bastard’s way,” John laughed bitterly. Goodneighbor had a reputation for holding the worst crime lords the Commonwealth had to offer, but Vic was in a league all on his own. “Vic runs this town and he’s not afraid to remind anyone who steps out of line, sugar.” John leaned back, craving a cigarette or something a little more fun. 

“We’ll see,” she tapped her chin thoughtfully and looked away. If anyone else had said that he would’ve distanced himself from them immediately, but with Purity he was interested to see what she would do next. 

He pulled out a dirty pack of cigarettes and Purity turned her head back to look at him with a glare. “Don’t light those in my clinic. My patients don’t need to breathe that shit in,” she growled. 

He raised his eyebrows, but otherwise complied and put the cigarettes away. She nodded gratefully, but John didn’t get her hate towards cigarettes when the air outside was fucking radioactive. “So did cigarettes fuck your boyfriend or something,” he laughed trying to diffuse the tension. 

She didn’t laugh, but she snorted in amusement. “Cigarettes aren’t allowed in vaults. I never got used to them.” John never would have taken her for a Vaultie—there weren’t a lot of them roaming the Commonwealth in the first place, but maybe it explained her generosity. Someone raised in the wasteland wouldn’t be as kind as her. He didn’t remember her wearing a Pipboy, but her baggy coat hid her arms. She smiled and pulled up the sleeve to reveal the supercomputer. This chick just got more and more interesting.


	4. Ouch

John didn’t need to see a doctor per se, but fuck it he was going to see his favorite doctor anyways. He fucked his arm up in his latest job with Jimmy and Bobby-No-Nose. He had seen and felt worse before and it wasn’t anything a little Med-X couldn’t fix, yet John thought he would take advantage of the situation with his favorite doctor. 

When John entered the Clinic, it was emptier than usual. As far as he could see all the patients were asleep because of the late hour. He didn’t know if Purity would be awake before sunrise, but she seemed like the goody goody that would be used to getting up early. He would have been surprised to find her dressed in combat armor if he didn’t expect her to continue to surprise him. Must’ve been a double negative or something. 

“You’re here early today John. Aren’t you supposed to be on some job with the infamous Bobby-No-Nose?” the doctor asked without turning around. No one was supposed to know about the job they did last night, but subtly was never Bobby’s strong suit. He’d have to have a chat with Jim about that later. 

“Well I was gonna go celebrate. Thought I’d show you my hard earned injury. Maybe you could do something about it for me?” John smiled his prettiest. She glanced over her shoulder once he mentioned his arm and started moving towards the opposite end of the room where a locked box sat. She opened it and John saw the biggest stash of medical supplies he’d ever seen. Where the fuck did she get that? Either she inherited it from some unlucky fop she killed or she’d been collecting that treasure for a while. 

She ushered him to sit in the closest chair and closed the door to her little room. He knew from experience that the rooms in Goodneighbor were far from soundproof. She was kneeling on his right side now, looking up at him with a threatening look. Honestly glaring at him just brought out her pretty green eyes. “If that box goes missing, I’ll know who to visit,” she said quietly. 

John felt a jolt of anger and after a long night and a bullet in his arm, didn’t try to keep it in. “Now listen here, sister. We ain’t spent a lot of time together, but you ought to know that I’m not gonna get in the way of the first person who’s helping things get better around here,” he growled. It was the first time the good doctor had seen him like this, but how could she think he’d do something like steal her fucking supplies? 

Her face instantly changed from glaring to wide eyed and innocent looking. He felt instant regret for snapping at her now. Goddammit, he sighed and tore his eyes away from her, she looked almost amazed at his little fit and it embarrassed him. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. He couldn’t turn his head fast enough to catch her expression. She wasn’t looking at him anymore; she was more focused on prepping his injured arm. He ignored the sting of the liquid she was dabbing onto it. She stopped, but didn’t meet his eyes. She looked at the floor instead. “I just…forgot how to trust people I guess. You’ve,” she sighed and looked up at him and smiled, “been nicer to me than anyone else has been in a long time.” 

John felt the wind under his sails deflate. Seriously, who was this girl? She just walked into his piece of shit life and stole the show. And dammit if he didn't love every minute of it since she appeared. If there was a perfect time to kiss a girl, it would be now. He tried to move his injured arm in order to cup her face, but she took his hand in hers instead and was still looking up at him with that little smile that was gonna get under his skin for weeks if he didn't give her something else to smile about. 

But the doctor wasn't going to make it easy for him. He should've guessed as much. She started digging into his arm with a pair of pliers for the stray bullet. He let out a not so manly yelp of pain before clutching her hand tightly (out of necessity and totally not retaliation at all). She grabbed onto his hand just as hard with a smile on her face. He didn't expect any less. 

He exhaled and stopped squeezing Purity's hand when she got those damned pliers of out his arm. She didn't even give him any drugs before she pulled the damn bullet out. See if he went back to her without drugging up in the future. 

She set his hand on his knee with a quick pat before standing up, inspecting the bullet she pulled out of his arm. He had to admit she was pretty quick at pulling the little fucker out. She set the pliers and the bullet on her desk with cute little wrinkles in her nose. "You done torturing me yet, doc?" he grinned up at her. 

She gave him a pointed look and picked up a stimpack, "If you're not careful I'll charge you for my services, Johnny." He gave her a laugh; they both knew she wouldn't make a nobody like him pay caps when he really just came here to see her. He didn't watch as she pushed the needle into his arm. It always freaked him when he watched his skin regenerate like that. Life before the war must've been crazy. 

"If you plan on going against goons with submachine guns again, can you at least wear something with more protection?" she smiled and flicked his coat for emphasis. 

"Hey doll," he smoothed out the collar of his jacket, "I don't need protection as long as I got my shotgun with me. And you're not exactly the standing authority on fashion." 

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow with a smile on her face, "Oh really? Fashion?" 

"Yeah," John leaned back in his chair with his most charming smile. He gestured to his own outfit; multiple layers over his torso for the cold Commonwealth winter, jeans, boots, and a scarf for a belt. Sure, it wasn't traditionally considered fashionable for Goodneighbor, but John liked rocking the boat a little. "It's not easy pulling this look together. Got to have some creativity to differentiate yourself from the dressed up triggermen around here." 

She laughed, "It's hard to take you all seriously when you're wearing 200-year-old rags. No one really has cutting edge apocalyptic fashion.” 

“What about that snake jacket you always wear? You must think that’s fashionable at least,” he smirked. 

She laughed and slapped her thigh. “What? God no, I’ve hated this stupid thing since I was sixteen,” she looked away, smiling. “The Tunnel Snakes,” she shook her head and looked back at him. John didn’t know if it was the blood loss but she looked amazing smiling at him like that. 

“Why wear it?” he asked when she didn’t elaborate. She had too many secrets for someone so fucking nice. But he understood. The world was a shitty place, more so with someone as good as Purity in it to show you what the world could be like without all the fuckheads. 

She shook her head, still smiling, “I guess I’m a sentimental sap and it reminds me of home.” She looked back at him again with a funny little smirk on her face. “The Tunnel Snakes are actually the, uh, biggest, meanest gang the Wasteland has ever seen. I earned my membership at nineteen.” 

John had never heard the name before seeing it on her jacket. The name of this so called gang didn’t exactly provoke fear. “Really?” he asked skeptically. 

She laughed again and he smiled in response. He’d never seen her be so open before. “No,” she shook her head, “just a bunch of idiots who think they’re tough shit.” 

He laughed too, then, “Ah that’s a shame. If they were a tough gang, then I could understand you being in Goodneighbor.” 

She stuffed her hands into her pockets then and her demeanor shifted to serious again. Way to go, John. “You should go to sleep,” she suggested. 

He pushed his lips into his most convincing pout, “You gonna throw me out onto the street when I’m injured doc?” 

He could see her try and hold back a little smile and he grinned at his success. “You can bunk here since you’re a patient.” 

“And you’re gonna watch over me while I sleep, right?” he leaned forward and grinned at her. Now she was smiling openly. She looked like she was going somewhere for a fight and he didn’t want to miss whatever she was doing for a quick snooze. 

She checked her Pipboy and looked back at him and nodded. “Yeah, alright. I’ll stay and make sure your dire injuries don’t kill you,” she smirked at him. 

“Aw, you’re a real life angel,” John said quietly. She looked away embarrassed and blushing, but John had meant it.


	5. 87

“So where are we going?” John asked, rustling a sugar bombs wrapper Purity had given him. She was filling a small backpack with food, water, and weapons and was still wearing the combat armor she had on when he entered the clinic that morning. She looked like she was going to war or something. 

“We aren’t going anywhere,” she gave him a pointed look but the slight smile she wore let him know she enjoyed his joking manner. She stopped packing for a moment to explain herself, “I just thought I’d get out and see the town, you know?” 

“Goodneighbor might be a tough town, but it doesn’t warrant all that,” he laughed and bit into the sugary goodness. He’d have to clean his teeth after though, Sugar Bombs always left shit in his teeth. 

“Not Goodneighbor,” she laughed and zipped her backpack shut, “Boston.” Well shit, now that made sense. The larger city was full of raiders, super mutants, and the occasional blood bug. 

“Why go out in that?” he asked without his usual charm. He knew how dangerous the city was and he knew his way around pretty good for a drifter nobody. Good people like Purity tended to die out in the wasteland and he didn’t want that to happen to her. 

She smiled teasingly at him, “Can’t a girl go out on the town? Visit a few museums?” Usually he would have loved to hear that tone directed at him, but he still remembered losing a few ghoul families in the relocation to Goodneighbor. You never knew what kind of crazy shit could happen out there. 

“Come on, angel!” he changed his tone to pleading although the thought of her leaving made him anxious. “You and me can have a night on the town, make some trouble,” he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed at his gimmicks, but still seemed hesitant on taking him. Usually people hated traveling alone, safety in numbers and all that, so why didn’t she want to take him. She wasn’t looking directly at him now; she seemed to be thinking it over. “What, do you got a boy I don’t know about?” he joked. That got a grin out of her and she looked at him. 

“And what if I do?” she challenged. Honestly the thought of her having someone never crossed his mind. You just didn’t let your girl go off to a place like Goodneighbor alone. Nah, for a girl like Purity you stick around and don’t go wandering. John didn’t have to think of an answer because Purity laughed at his expression, “I’m kidding.” 

He laughed too, slightly relieved at the news. “See? So what’s the harm in bringing little ol’ me?” he smiled at her. Her smile faded and she looked nervous as she bit at her thick lips. She shook her head and sighed, brushing a hand through her poofy head of curls. 

“Come on, then,” she forced a smile at him and picked up a fancy rifle he’d never seen before. Her reaction was beyond worrying, but he wasn’t going let that stop him from accompanying her out into the shithole that was the wasteland. 

John quickly found out why she wasn’t nervous about being out here on her own. She was quiet like a mouse and her small stature helped her hide from any trouble. 

Apparently that Pipboy of hers could detect most trouble before it found them. He’d have to get himself one of those bad boys. She made her away around the Boston ruins like she was born to it. John almost had to wonder if she wasn’t from here and lied because of some past she was afraid of. It wouldn’t be the first time someone hid away in the hole that was Goodneighbor. Though most people didn’t make it back out again.

They went straight to a museum, just like she had said. A weird thing to risk your life for, but who wasn’t a little weird now days? She stopped him as soon as they entered the museum. “John,” she put her hand on his shoulder and bit her lip nervously, “The real reason why I’m here is to meet some friends. So…don’t shoot them okay?” 

John grabbed her hand and squeezed with his charming smile in place, “Well you know I don’t make promises, but I guess I could try.” She snorted in amusement at him, but made no comment. That was fine by John, he enjoyed teasing her to find out what made her smile and what made her flash her pretty green eyes at him in warning. 

Purity lead John through the empty museum, still holding his hand. In the quiet John could hear distant gunfire that let him know the constant turf war between raiders, super mutants, and whatever else made its home in the city was going strong. He didn’t know why Purity would be meeting up with people in a run-down museum. From the look of the place scavengers already took anything of value long before he had been born.

John couldn’t imitate Purity’s silent gait as they crept through the museum. He didn’t know what kind of friends of Purity’s would want to meet in the middle of the city instead of somewhere safe like Diamond City. Unless she was meeting with ghouls and didn’t feel comfortable with them wandering into Goodneighbor. Knowing her, it was a strong possibility. 

Purity stopped when they walked into a large hall. He didn’t fucking know why, he couldn’t hear anything. He couldn’t see anything either; in the dead of night the central hall they were in was almost pitch black. A small hole in the roof was the only real light source they had. John was already tense, but when Purity dropped his hand he was ready to start shooting. Could be a radroach, could be a feral. 

No, nothing so normal. 

Purity entered the hall bravely while John stayed planted where he was, ready for danger. He finally saw what she was looking at. Across the hall he could barely make out a yellow 87. 

“Fawkes?”


	6. Ghouls, Super Mutants, & Secrets Galore

Did Jim sneak something into his chems? Maybe he died and Purity was a strange angel of death taking him on one last adventure. Either way, there was no way in fucking hell this was happening right now. Because in a sane world, that he used to think he belonged to, a little girl supposedly from a vault would never run to hug a super mutant named ‘Fox’. Shit, he didn’t even know super mutants knew what names were. 

“You came!” Purity laughed while in the arms of a fucking giant. This was not happening. Nope. He had a seizure and this was a delirious dream. 

“Anything for my friend,” he rumbled. Now if he was having a really good dream the super mutant would be a lady. He’d never seen one of those before.

“Where’s Charon?” Purity asked and looked around the dark room. Must be the lady super mutant. Right on time. 

“Boss,” a gravelly voice replied from one of the other doorways. It was the tell-tale sign of the Wasteland ghoul. Not quite what John had in mind. Seemed a little disappointing compared to the friendly super mutant. 

John immediately took it back when he saw ‘Sharon’. He was easily seven feet tall and the meanest looking bastard John had ever seen. But of course Purity gave the giant a dazzling smile. Why wouldn’t the doctor full of kindness have a super ghoul as her BFF (and his name was ‘Sharon’)? 

“You can introduce me anytime, sweets,” John called jovially across the hall. If Purity wasn’t concerned, then he figured he had no reason to be. Hopefully she didn’t decide to feed him to her super mutant. 

Three pairs of eyes landed on him at once. He felt a little tense while holding a shotgun in front of two large “friends” of Purity, but someone had to stop the surreal dream sequence at some point. 

Purity rushed back across the hall to John’s side, probably deflecting any attempts on his life in the process. “John,” she smiled apologetically and pointed to the super mutant, “this is Fawkes.” We’ve saved each other more than a few times.” She gestured to the towering ghoul next, “And this is Charon. He’s umm…been under my employment for a while now. I trust these two with my life.” 

Alright, things made a little more sense to John. Can’t exactly bring a super mutant into Goodneighbor anyway. Purity was too nice for her own good; she was exactly the type of person who would save anyone who needed help—even a super mutant. John had thought it was suspicious that a lone woman was in the slum of Goodneighbor, but he figured the giant ass ghoul served as her bodyguard. Though, she didn’t need to rely on ‘Sharon’ for immediate protection. Girl could handle herself. She had the kind of moves a man like John could appreciate. 

Purity, who was looking at John expectantly, was waiting for some kind of reaction. John just chuckled, “You’re one of a kind, angel.” The tension leaked out of her expression and she laughed breathlessly with that smile of hers. She drew back into herself far too soon for John’s liking and turned her attention back to the super mutant and ‘Sharon.’ 

She knelt down and started retrieving the food and water she packed before leaving. Sharon readily accepted everything she offered. John had to resist the urge to sit back and smoke while she took care of these weirdos. But if this proved anything, it was that she belonged in Goodneighbor. Treating the freaks and oddities of the Commonwealth in one place. 

“John,” Purity called out to him. He raised his eyebrows in question. Reluctantly he headed over closer to the very large and dangerous beings. “What do you think would happen if Charon came to Goodneighbor?” she asked, biting her lips. Her distracting lips aside, it was a good question. The drifters would scurry out of his way, but Vic and his gang could pose a threat either through recruitment or harassment. 

“He definitely would cause a stir. Might wanna leave ‘em here with your mutant friend,” he said, nodding to ‘Fox.’ Weird names for such tough guys. 

She looked at Sharon and when she looked back at John her eyes were cold and hard, “I might need to cause a ‘stir’.” She stood and dusted off her hands. “Let’s head back to Goodneighbor. Hopefully nobody noticed we were gone for long.” That comment raised more questions for John. It was frustrating to be this close to Purity, but not know much about her. Purity’s walls only allowed him to see her for brief moments. He wanted to respect her secrets, but he was an open book and he wanted to read hers in return. Not in that way. Hah, yeah, okay, in that way too.


	7. Dude. Buddy. Pal. Man

John wasn’t expecting a fellow redhead to be standing over his kind-of-girlfriend when he walked into the clinic. Got to keep on your toes while in Goodneighbor. But that wasn’t what was pissed him off. He knew Purity could handle herself. No, for the first time he saw fear in her eyes. The girl who made friends with deadly ghouls and super mutants was afraid. That had to mean bad news for everybody.

  
“Is there a problem here, buddy?” John asked the ginger in dark sunglasses. John was smiling on the outside, but simmering below the surface. He didn’t even recognize the man which made things worse.

  
“Nah, no problem pal,” the ginger man replied with an easy smile. Purity ignored John in favor of paying careful attention to the redhead in sunglasses. John grit his teeth when the stranger grabbed her shoulder with a firm grip,” See you around.” Bastard’s lucky he didn’t lose his damn hand.

  
“Later man,” John said, stepping closer to Purity.

  
“Adios dude,” he replied, lacking Johns subtle threatening tone.

  
John touched the shoulder opposite the one buddy-pal-man-dude touched. Unlike him, John’s touch was soft and careful not to alarm her. “You okay angel?”

  
She looked at him, her eyes still wide with fear even though the guy with sunglasses was gone. She searched his face and he saw her eyes land briefly on his lips. John couldn’t keep away the smirk that pulled on his lips. “What do you know about the Institute?” she asked while looking back into his eyes.

  
John’s smirk faded instantly. The fuck did ginger in sunglasses have to do with the Institute? What was the point in getting Purity all worked up over the boogeyman? He tried drawing soothing circles with his thumb on her shoulder when he noticed she still wasn’t calming down. “They’re not much more than ghost stories. Bastards who scare the shit out of families. What’d that guy say to you about them?”

  
She shook her head immediately and John knew she was lying. Why protect that guy? John didn’t know him, which meant he was probably a drifter. If she could stand up to Vic’s men, why not a drifter? “Wanna get something to eat?” she changed the subject breezily. She didn’t look fearful anymore, just a little sad.

  
Normally he’d be ecstatic that she asked him out, but her mood soured his. He threw his arm around her anyway and smiled, “Sure thing, angel.” John would do his best to make her feel better. And then maybe later he would ask around about that ginger.

  
John didn’t consider himself hurting for caps; he was always good at earning them when he needed to. He was less adept at keeping then, but John could always find a way to have a good time.

  
With Purity, John figured hunkering down with the rest of the drifters would be plenty fun and plenty cheap. Plus, Jim wasn’t there tonight to embarrass him.

  
“So angel, tell me about this vault of yours,” John said when they both got bowls of soup and sat down. Their meals were free because of Purity’s charity. Heh.

  
She signed, “Vault one-oh-one? It was a small piece of the old world, but just as fucked up.” John watched her smile and look up at him. “The false sense of security offered by the vaults can’t compare to seeing the sky for the first time.” And no one could compare to the girl sitting in front of him now.

  
Instead of saying that piece of garbage he looked up at the sky and smiled, “One of the few things the bombs didn’t touch.” He looked back at Purity, glad that she was smiling again.

  
“What about you? Did you grow up in the alleyways of Goodneighbor?” she asked while looking into her soup.

  
He looked away and laughed, “Nah, not me. I grew up along the waters of Diamond City.” John ground his teeth at the thought of that fucking place. His stupid brother would get what was coming to him one day. “Diamond City, the great green shit pile. Goodneighbor might lack for charm, but it makes up for it in freedom. Worth dealing with Vic and his boys any day.”

  
Purity moved closer while John was busy being bitter. He could tell she was concerned about his anger so he gave her a smile. “Sorry angel,” he laughed, “can’t stand the sight of that place since the mayor kicked out every last ghoul that had helped build Diamond City since the bombs fell.”

  
“I’m surprised Diamond City let ghouls in at all. Not a lot of settlements will tolerate ghouls unless they’re slaves,” she sighed heavily then smiled. “At least you cared though.”  
John snorted, “Lot of good caring did for those people. They didn’t have a chance out in the Wasteland.” John couldn’t take enough drugs to forget about those doomed souls his brother killed. And he did nothing. The only ghoul he knew made it was Jim. And he was already a frequent visitor to Goodneighbor.

  
“Then do better next time,” she insisted. John had to look to see if she was serious, and of course she was. Her cute little frown and wrinkle between her brows confirmed it.  
“What the fuck can a nobody like me do?” he laughed. Purity was too optimistic about the world.

  
“Fight the mayor. Get the citizens to change their minds. Anything. We don’t have to accept the shitty deck this broken world gives us, John.” She was staring at him with those big green eyes.

  
He kissed her. He had to. She was too fucking precious and this shithole of a world didn’t deserve her. He didn’t either, but hopefully she wouldn’t come to her senses about that.

  
He had dropped his soup on the ground to cup her cheek. Her lips were chapped and she tasted like drifter soup, but she kissed him back. He finally had this little angel in his arms and he never wanted to let go. He did let go when she pulled away—only partly because she was a bad kisser. John didn’t worry, he had plenty to teach her.

  
When he opened his eyes she looked breathless and surprised. Simply precious. He smiled and stroked her cheek.

  
“How about you and that doctor go and get a room John!” yelled an ugly accent from across the fire. John and Purity quickly distanced themselves from the fire and turned to the source of the voice. Skinny Malone. Goodneighbor’s crappiest mob-boss. Aspiring mob-boss was more accurate. He wasn’t more than a junky that found an old suit and a machine gun. John leaned forward with a casual grin to grip the throwing knife he kept in his boot. “And what are you doing here Malone? Slumming with the rest of us?” John snarked. Malone was all bark and no bite—the worst kind of dog in Goodneighbor.

  
“Shut it McDonough! Not here for you anyway. I’m here for the girl,” Malone pointed one malnourished finger at Purity. That didn’t bode well for anyone.

  
“And what can I do for you Mr. Malone?” Purity questioned harshly. All traces of the sweet little angel who helped drifters was gone. This Purity wouldn’t put up with Malone’s bullshit.

  
“Relax doll,” Skinny laughed at her harsh tone. Purity frowned, but otherwise remained glaring at the wannabe gangster. “I’ve got a favor to ask on behalf of Nick Valentine.”

  
Purity smiled slightly and leaved forward eagerly, “The synth detective?” And with that question John knew he was screwed. And not the fun kind.


End file.
